"Can we read now?"

By now those of you who are regular readers of this blog (and who are very much appreciated), know that I am enamored with the writings of Pat Conroy. I am now reading to Jon and Greg The Water is Wide, which is Pat's account of his year teaching on Yamacraw Island, off the coast of South Carolina. The boys are thoroughly enjoying it. Conroy is so much like me, except that he can write so wonderfully. He is five years younger than I, so we have lived through the same decades in this American life. He went through the same do-gooder phase at about the same time that I did. He shares my lack of love for bureaucracy, or to put it more positively, he was willing to be unorthodox in order to reach his students. Greg, Jon, and I love his wonderful sense of humor. I love to put the boys asleep at night reading to them something they enjoy so much. They ask questions or I explain words to them I know they do not understand. I love it when they actually come to me and ask, "Can we read now?"